<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Keeping Doctor Carter by SophieHatter</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27589355">Keeping Doctor Carter</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieHatter/pseuds/SophieHatter'>SophieHatter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stargate SG-1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zoo, And George is Gerald Durrell, Animal Welfare, British Naturalists, Dogs, Elephants, F/M, Happy Ending, Her dad is David Attenborough, My Family and Other Animals - Freeform, Zoo, Zoo Quest - Freeform, zookeeping</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:15:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27589355</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieHatter/pseuds/SophieHatter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In an attempt to increase public interest Jack’s zoo hires a new animal behaviourist - Dr Samantha Carter. Despite being a famous TV presenter and daughter of the much-loved British Naturalist Jacob Carter, Jack is determined to remain unimpressed by his new colleague.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Keeping Doctor Carter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Dear lovely fans,</p><p>Thank you all for your continuing interest in my stories and I apologise for starting a new fic instead of updating my other ones. My life over the past twelve months has been... interesting, particularly because my mum has late stage Parkinson’s and has been the focus of nearly all my care and attention over this time.</p><p>But a highlight has been my daughter starting her journey towards becoming a zookeeper, so I am dedicating this fic to her. </p><p>No guarantees on how long this fic will be or when I will finish it, so please feel free not to commit to it at this stage. </p><p>Much love and eternal gratitude, Sophie xx</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the kind of day he liked best. Warm, but not too hot, breezy but not enough to blow up the dust in the yard outside. T was whistling softly as he held the hose and splashed it over Pambla, the herd’s matriarch, who was presenting her feet to him for their daily inspection. When she was done, the old dame made her way over and held out her trunk to Jack, asking for scratches in her favourite spot.</p><p>Jack chuckled as he complied and murmured softly to the older elephant, pulling her ears forward to check behind them and scratching her there just the way she liked.</p><p>“You don’t care about who’s coming today, do you?” He asked her, stepping up on the lowest rung of the enclosure’s fence so that he could reach higher. “You’re happy with things just the way they are. Don’t need an overrated television vet coming here to tell us how, do we?”</p><p>Pambla turned her head towards Jack, large brown eye regarding him before she reached for his head with her trunk, snuffling his hair with her moist, hay smelling breath.</p><p>“She won’t last long in a <em>real</em> zoo. Not without her daddy here.”</p><p>T whistled his usual sharp rising notes that signalled to the herd that it was time to open the outer gates and Pambla turned her head away and then hesitated, turning back to Jack to regard him once again.</p><p>Slapping her neck, Jack cooed calming noises at her. “It’ll be alright,” he reassured the giant animal, as much a part of his family as Zoe, his Australian Shepard. “Keep an eye on Jottie,” he told her. “He’s getting too confident out on the savannah.”</p><p>Knowing who Jack referred to, Pambla turned toward the sixth month old bull calf, her grandson, and flapped her ear as if mildly annoyed.</p><p>“Trouble waiting to happen,” Jack agreed, watching him dance between the feet of the rest of the herd, almost getting stepped on or kicked, but always managing to skirt disaster by the slimmest of margins. Or maybe the herd, all his relatives, knew enough of frisky young elephants to move carefully around him.</p><p>There was a clunk as T pulled on the lever that unlocked the massive gate and walked backwards, pulling it open and allowing the first of the group to step out into the holding yard and the savannah enclosure that was beyond it. Jack ran his hand along the upper edge of Pambla's ear in an affectionate caress and stepped down off the rails.</p><p>“Go on,” he told her and then watched, hands stuffed in his pockets, while she made her way outside to where her sisters, children and grandchildren waited to go out on display. As she stepped through the gate, they all took that as permission - or reassurance - and began ambling toward the fresh foraging that awaited them beyond.</p><p>Returning from shutting the large rolling gate that separated the elephant’s night home from their day one, T clapped his large hand on Jack's shoulder. “Ready?” The big man asked.</p><p>Jack sighed, pulled a cap from a pocket and fitting it on his head. “Let’s get this over with.” </p><p>Why T found the arrival of Samantha Carter, Doctor of Veterinary medicine, daughter of zoo royalty and <em>TV personality</em> so amusing was beyond him. She was nothing but the flavour of the month, a desperate play by the zoo’s board to revive the flagging public interest in an institution thought to be outdated at best and inhumane at worst. She’d be gone in a year or a less, bored with the lack of travel and excitement and missing the celebrity that she no doubt revelled in. Young, blonde and the only daughter of Jacob Carter, the world famous naturalist, Jack doubted that she’d ever spent more than an afternoon in a real zoo. She probably didn’t know which end of the shovel scooped the shit.</p><p>Walking into the zoo’s administrative offices he saw her being hugged by George, the Zoo’s director and Jack’s boss, like she was his own long lost daughter.</p><p>Jack scowled as he made his way to the back of the conference room, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. </p><p>Great. Just great. This was going to go <em>soooo</em> well.</p>
<hr/><p>Later, after the long and self-important welcome speech from Kinsey, Chair of the zoo’s board, and the shorter, and much warmer welcome from George, Dr Samantha Carter smiled and nodded and said how thrilled she was to be here and how much she looked forward to getting to know the zoo, its inhabitants and the animals.</p><p>Everyone laughed, even Jack, because people would have noticed if he hadn’t, and he didn’t think of himself as rude.</p><p>There was a little mixer, afterwards, with cakes and tea and coffee provided by the on site cafe. Jack thanked the heavens for small mercies, snagged two of the single portions of gateau and was just putting a forkful in his mouth when George and Dr Samantha Carter approached him.</p><p>“And this is Jack O’Neill, head of large mammals and T, the leader of our elephant team.”</p><p>Jack froze with the cake in his mouth and both hands occupied as George stared at him and Dr Samantha Carter held out her hand.</p><p>He spluttered as he inhaled to speak and the crumbs hit the back of his throat and was lost in paroxysms of coughing as T thumped him on the back and George called for a glass of water. And all the time Dr Samantha Carter stood there and smirked at him, not breaking her composure for a moment as she watched him nearly die. From choking or his embarrassment, Jack thought either was just as likely to amuse her.</p><p>She withdrew her unshaken hand and George passed him the water, which Jack nearly fumbled because he was still holding the fork. </p><p>“Better with elephants than he is with humans,” George joked and turned towards Kawalski. “I believe you already know Charlie from your time in Indonesia filming <em>The Secret Life of Spiders</em>.”</p><p>Jack sipped at his glass of water and tried to clear the last of the crumbs from his windpipe with a quiet cough. “Kawalski knows her?” He rasped at T.</p><p>“Knows her well, apparently,” T murmured as Kawalski and the blonde embraced and then stood with a hand on each other’s shoulder and exchanged promises to catch up over a beer in the imminent future.</p><p>“Traitor,” Jack muttered and waved T away when asked what he’d said. </p><p>The big man chuckled again and Jack decided that the best way to soothe his throat and wounded pride was with more cake. </p>
<hr/><p>It was later that evening, almost on dusk, that he saw her again. And if it hadn’t been for Zoe he could have turned around and gone right back inside, pretending that he hadn’t seen her at all.</p><p>Zoe, however, seemed to completely forget about her immediate need to take a leak and instead bounded down the porch steps before he could call her back. By the time he’d made it down the stairs his dog was joyfully greeting the woman standing on the front lawn next to his. Approaching, Jack noticed a small collection of moving boxes piled up next to the front door. </p><p>Of course. George must have offered her the use of the vacant staff villa until she could get her own place off the zoo’s grounds. At least Zoe seemed to welcome the temporary arrangement: she had already progressed to lying on her back and letting Dr Carter scratch her belly.</p><p>“And what’s your name, you lovely girl?” Dr Carter asked, crouching down to fulfil her duties as the, apparently, newly crowned favourite of all canine kind.</p><p>“Traitor,” Jack mumbled to himself as Zoe wiggled with delight.</p><p>“Taylor?”</p><p>“Uh. No. Zoe,” Jack supplied, meaning to be heard this time.</p><p>“You are gorgeous, Zoe,” Dr Carter told his dog, “Quite the best Australian Shepard I have ever had the pleasure to meet.”</p><p>Jack found himself impressed, though if it was because she knew Zoe’s breed or because she talked to Zoe like she was a proper person instead of using a cutesy-wutsey voice as he had expected, he couldn’t say.</p><p>“Jack, isn’t it?” Patting Zoe's belly and then rising to her feet, Dr Carter held out her hand to him.</p><p>“Yeah,” he stammered, still thrown by the interaction with his dog. Belatedly he took her hand and shook it.</p><p>“Nice to meet you, neighbour,” Sam smiled. “I didn’t know staff could have pets on site.”</p><p>“Yeah, we can,” he answered, absently noting the confident firmness of her grip and the warmth her touch left behind. Then thinking he should be a little more articulate, he added, “There’s a double fence between us and the main grounds. Dogs are allowed as long as they’re primarily indoors. Some of the others have cats, birds. Reptiles,” he added, thinking of Stiler. “Do you, um, have a pet?”</p><p>“No,” she answered, “Not for a long time.”</p><p>“Oh?” His surprise was plain.</p><p>Gesturing vaguely, as if to encompass all the world about them, “Not had much of a life to speak of. For an animal, that is, what with the never being home very long.”</p><p>“Oh. No...” What was it the young ones said these days? Not husband or boyfriend. Something gender ambiguous. “Partner?” He tried, hoping he got it right.</p><p>“Nope. Not much of a life for people, either,” she paused awkwardly.</p><p>“Oh,” Jack found himself saying again, cringing at his words as he went on, “Well. At least now you can get a dog.”</p><p>“I can,” she smiled, the awkwardness fading. “And a cat and a bird and a reptile.”</p><p>“Don’t tell me you’re one of those animal people,” Jack teased.</p><p>“I had a whole zoo as a kid,” she grinned, “But no, I think one dog will suffice, at least for now.” She bent down to scratch Zoe’s ears while the dog beamed up at her.</p><p>“It’ll be a lucky dog,” he found himself saying. </p><p>The compliment made her uncomfortable and he regretted it instantly. A celebrity who disliked compliments, who would’ve guessed?</p><p>“I better go and get unpacked. Before it gets dark.” Backing away she waved to them both. “Nice to meet you Zoe, Jack.”</p><p>“You too, Dr Carter.”</p><p>“Sam,” she offered him, “I don’t abide all that rank and title stuff.”</p><p>“Right,” he acknowledged, remembering her double doctorates, “Otherwise you’d be Dr Dr Carter.” It was out of his mouth before he could stop it.</p><p>“Oh god no,” she laughed, “Definitely not that.”</p><p>Jack called Zoe to him and watched as she turned at the top of her porch stairs and waved again. He returned it with a nod and then gestured Zoe to heel and turned back towards his place.</p><p>So he’d read the bio the zoo had put out with the press release announcing her recruitment. Only made sense to know who the zoo was hiring and all the ways she was going to impact the place he lived and worked. If she stayed, he added to himself, rubbing his hand on his thigh, remembering the warmth of her palm. </p><p>Not much of a life to speak of, her voice said in his head. Maybe she was looking for something different. A different life other than flying all over the world and appearing on Sunday night TV in a hundred different countries.</p><p>Maybe she wanted a life that had a dog waiting at home.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>